JBL Pulse 4
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JBL Pulse 4 Review


The JBL Pulse 4 is a Bluetooth speaker with customizable LED lights and an open soundstage. Thanks to its 360-degree design, it’s excellent at both directivity for bigger rooms and sounds equally good in smaller spaces, thanks to how accurate the mid-range speakers are.

This results in beautiful voice reproduction that makes vocals shine. In addition, this feature works exceptionally well when you’re listening alone instead of playing music, as others can enjoy your emotional singing abilities without having to listen closely.

The IPX7 rating means high water resistance, meaning if slightly more than standard splashes, don’t bother it so much either! But it doesn’t have Voice Assistant support which might be something worth considering.

JBL Pulse 4 Portable Bluetooth Speaker

Design

The JBL Pulse 4 waterproofof Bluetooth speaker has a rounded cylindrical build, measuring 8.2 inches tall by 3.8 inches around and weighing 2.8 pounds at the time of this JBL Pulse 4 speaker review. It’s available in black or white models. However, its main feature is an LED lighting panel that wraps itself around the speaker enclosure’s midsection (like a belt).

The lights can be customized through buttons on the speaker or by using its app to adjust color schemes for each light within 360 degrees with RGB colors.

JBL Pulse 4 Portable Bluetooth Speaker review

The JBL Pulse 4 portable speaker is encased in transparent, glass-like plastic with the solid build quality. However, it’s not fingerprint proof; you may need to clean the speaker frequently because of this issue.

The glass-like casing may attract unwanted fingerprints, but it has a significant advantage over many rivals: an IPX7 waterproof rating. That means the unit can be submerged in up to 1m of water for 30 minutes without causing damage. The speaker is also dust and sand proof, making it perfect for pool, beach parties, or bathroom sing-along sessions!

The APP

The JBL pulse 4 app is okay. It’s compatible with iOS and Android, so you can use it to create patterns for the speaker’s RGB lights. In addition, you can pair two speakers together in ‘Stereo Pair Mode’ or link them using ‘Party Mode,’ which amplifies audio for a larger space.

JBL Pulse 4 app

The Equalizer feature makes an exciting light pattern, but no sound adjustments are included like an EQ on this particular application.

The light show

The light show modes can be accessed via the button mentioned above on top of the speaker, but there’s a lot more control over it via JBL’s well-designed iOS and Android apps.

Compared to the ten previous models, the newest JBL pulse 4 speaker has four light show profiles. The new effects are more engaging and make it funner to listen along with your music even when you’re not at a party or gathering!

The Battery

The battery performance of this speaker is satisfactory. The manufacturer estimates the life to be roughly 12 hours, but it can vary depending on volume levels and whether or not you use the LEDs.

If there isn’t any audio input after around 20 minutes, then it will shut off completely. Keep in mind that your results may differ from those estimated by JBL’s marketing team because different usage means a difference in battery life as well. On another note, charging takes about 3.5 hours.

JBL Pulse 4 Portable Bluetooth Speaker

The Bluetooth

The JBL Pulse 4 speaker has excellent Bluetooth connectivity. It supports multi-device pairing so that it can connect with up to two devices at a time. In addition, this speaker’s latency is low enough that you can watch videos on your phone without much delay between the video and sound output.

You should note that while this device does have lower latency when paired with iOS devices than Android ones, some apps compensate for higher audio lag differently–so make sure to test out how well it will work before buying if you plan on using an app like Netflix or YouTube.

The Control

The JBL Pulse 4 has good controls. The buttons are located at the top of the speaker, and they’re all easy to press. There is a button for adjusting the volume and one that you can press twice if you want to skip a track, though there isn’t an option for going backward.

JBL Pulse 4 Wireless Speaker review

In addition, there is also what we call ‘PartyBoost’ mode, where multiple speakers with this feature enabled will play in unison when connected simultaneously. Hence, the music flows throughout your house continuously regardless of the distance between devices!

Sound Performance

The JBL Pulse 4 Bluetoothe speaker is a mid-range device that has an immersive sound. The bass performance is outstanding and does not lack in quality. The midrange is also of quality, and the treble does not lack. The clarity of the vocals is fantastic. The sound performance is superior to some other models, which still have performance issues with their treble and bass. The directional feature of the speaker can be adjusted so that it works for specific locations.

JBL Pulse 4 Portable Bluetooth Speaker app

This speaker quickly fills a room and can cut through the hustle and bustle of a busy park. The low-end is impactful, punchy, with crisp highs delivered in an energetic, detailed audio sound across genres. While there were some tracks where vocals took over slightly, it wasn’t too much of an issue overall, making this system very loud which would be great for big rooms or even houses.


The JBL Pulse 4 wireless speaker won’t quite make the walls shake, but it packs a strong punch for a small portable speaker. It’s too bad that there are still no equalizer settings in the JBL app because this would be a fantastic feature to have and has been requested by many users. The main functions of checking battery life and managing PartyBoost should do fine as is, though.

Want to make your music louder? PartyBoost lets you pair two compatible speakers together for stereo sound. If that’s not enough, add on even more speakers until it reaches the volume of a party! It works by pressing dedicated buttons.

JBL Pulse 4 Wireless Speaker

Conclusion

The JBL Pulse 4 is a Bluetooth speaker with customizable LED lights and an open soundstage. Thanks to its 360-degree design, it’s excellent at both directivity for bigger rooms and sounds equally good in smaller spaces, thanks to how accurate the mid-range speakers are.

This results in beautiful voice reproduction that makes vocals shine. So if you’re looking for a high-quality wireless Bluetooth speaker, be sure to check out this one.

What Buyers Say About JBL Pulse 4?

You wanna talk about jack of all trades?! This JBL Pulse 4 speaker covers it all. You having a rough day and need to workout but don’t want to hear anything, not even your own breathing?! This speaker will cover you! You want to work on something in the garage and drown out all other noise? Boom covered. You want to spark a recreational adult “cigarette” and enjoy a nice vibe, oh boy does this speaker give you that. Hot date? You getting lucky and need something to add to the mood and block out the beached whale screams? Not only will this speaker do that but it will also give you nice lighting ;). Overall this speaker has paid for itself and look forward to many many more adventures with it.

I really love this JBL Pulse 4 Bluetooth speaker for what it is. First off, the sound quality is great for its size. It’s got good bass and doesn’t overpower the vocals. It sounds punchy and clear. It also gets really loud even under 50% volume. Battery life is pretty good. And the lights are what make it really cool in my opinion. It has 4 preset light effects and you can make your own effect via the JBL connect app. The only negative I found is that it’s a bit of a fingerprint magnet. Overall, I highly recommend this speaker to anyone who wants great sound quality as well as a light show to go with their music.


JBL Pulse 4 Specifications

  • Bluetooth version: 4.2
  • Maximum music playing time (hrs): 12
  • Bluetooth profiles: A2DP V1.3, ACRCP V1.6
  • Bluetooth frequency: 2.402 – 2.480GHz
  • Bluetooth transmitted modulation: GFSK, π/4 – DQPSK, 8DPSK
  • Bluetooth transmitter power: ≤10dBm
  • Battery Type: Lithium-ion polymer 26 Wh ( 3.6V, 7260mAh)
  • Charging time (hrs): 3.5
  • Dimensions (cm): 9.6 x 20.7 x 9.6
  • Dimensions (in): 3.8 x 8.1 x 3.8
  • Weight (kgs): 1.26
  • Weight (lbs): 2.8